Giselle (Royal Ballet) | 
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| Director: Ross Macgibbon
Actors: Genesia Rosato, David Drew, Martin Harvey, Marianela Nunez, Alina Cojocaru
Studio: BBC / Opus Arte
Category: DVD
List Price: $32.98
Buy New: $22.83
You Save: $10.15 (31%)
New (8) Used (1) from $22.83
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 22561
Format: Classical, Color, Dts Surround Sound, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 0
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 993
UPC: 809478009931
EAN: 0809478009931
ASIN: B001E08TDA
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
Perhaps the most celebrated ballet of the Romantic era, Adolphe Adam's intoxicating ballet Giselle is the dramatic story of a peasant girl whose betrayal by her aristocratic lover causes her to go mad before dying and returning as a ghost. Featuring the fabulous Alina Cojocaru in the title role and Johan Kobborg as a torn Count Albrecht, Peter Wright's sparkling production and John Macfarlane's pastoral designs create an opulent feast for the eyes, here captured in High Definition video and true surround sound
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
A common man's point of view. December 27, 2008
Richard Rawls (Dublin Ga USA)
Please note: There are are NO reviews of this ballet with less than five stars. Should you see one with less, you can be sure the reviewer is unaware of what an exceptional ballet is.
Giselle is one of my favorite "Romantic" ballets. You probably already know that this version stars the very accomplished Alina Cojocaru as the beautiful Maiden/Wili "Giselle". Even the title of this ballet is beautiful, when pronounced the French way (zhee-zel).
Sir Peter Wright is in charge of the production of this version by the Royal Ballet. That, in itself, guarantees you of an authentic version of the ballet, since Peter Wright researches his productions to their very origins, to give you the product the authors meant for you to have. The original was apparently shot in Hi-Definition, but the DVD is NOT Hi-Def, although the DVD has exceptionally good quality resolution.
Giselle is a beautiful, but naive maiden whose mother has a wayside inn where passers-by may stop and refresh themselves. Hilarion, the local gamekeeper, is in love with Giselle, and considers her his future bride. However, his love is not returned by Giselle. Count Albrecht has seen Giselle and wants to romance her, but he is already engaged to Bathilde, a member of Royalty. Albrecht deceives Giselle by dressing himself as a peasant, and calling himself "Loy", buys a house close to hers. As the romance blossoms, Giselle is very happy and shows her happiness in her dancing. Because Giselle has a weak heart, she overexerts herself and becomes feint. On seeing this, her mother forbids her from dancing. Her mother, Berthe, has had a dream, in which she has seen her daughter die to become a "Wili", the ghost of a virgin who has died of a broken heart before her wedding, because of the treachery of her unfaithful lover.
Trouble begins when a Regal Party, including Bathilde, enters the village for refreshments. Hilarion, having discovered Albrecht's deceit, exposes him to everyone, and Giselle literally goes mad in her grief, and the most heart-wrenching "mad" scene in all of ballet or opera takes place on stage. Giselle, in her deranged state of mind picks up Albrecht's sword and stabs herself. She dies, and I cry.
Giselle is buried in a forest glade, with a simple wooden cross to mark her grave. Hilarion has come to her grave-site to mourn for her, but is scared out of his wits by ghostly apparitions, and runs off into the forest. The apparitions are Wilis who appear at midnight to haunt the forest. Their leader or Queen is Myrthe. She summons all the Wilis to the glade, and some of the most beautiful "white" dancing in all ballet takes place there, after which Giselle is summoned from her grave to join the Wilis. In the meantime, Albrecht enters looking for Giselle's grave, and while he is praying, she appears to him as a ghost.
The Wilis will kill any man they "catch" in the forest, by forcing him to dance himself to death. But, what do you do with a dead body on the stage?
So, they usually force him into a lake to drown. Hilarion is the first victim of the Wilis. Then they catch Albrecht and command him to dance himself to death, but Giselle, in defiance of her Queen, intervenes, and has Albrecht seek sanctuary at the cross on her grave. The Wili Queen daren't go near it because it is sacred. The Queen then commands Giselle to dance with Albrecht, and because of her undying love, she is able to support him until dawn, when the Wilis lose their power. In one last act of defiance, Giselle comes between Myrthe and Albrecht.
One wonders why Hilarion has to die when the real Cad, Albrecht lives. Seems unfair, doesn't it? Buy this ballet and see why it has such an appeal to the masses. Ballet masses, that is. Good viewing, Richard.
Cojocaru is Giselle December 1, 2008
Eric (California)
Alina Cojocaru gives an outstanding performance. She dances with such grace and beauty that it is hard to imagine anyone else in this role. She alone would makes this a DVD worth owning. But of course there is much more to praise in this performance. I very much liked the sets but they seem to overly stretch the capacity of the stage. Marianela Nunez is very fine as Myrtha. My one complaint is the camera work at the end of Act 1 - R.Nicholson covers it well. I am very pleased with this Giselle and highly recommend it.
Captures a great Giselle forever November 17, 2008
Ivy Lin (NY NY)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ballet on video is like the fossil record: fascinating and informative, but frustratingly incomplete. Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky were never filmed at all, and many artists were never filmed in their trademark roles (Lynn Seymour as Juliet, Erik Bruhn in Sylphide). Therefore it's always a delight when a portrayal as wonderful as Alina Cojocaru's Giselle is preserved on video. Alina Cojocaru, as I mentioned earlier in a review of her Sleeping Beauty, is not particularly glamorous looking, and her feet are wide and without much of an instep. But these aesthetic complaints are quickly forgotten the minute she starts dancing. In the first act, her Giselle is a shy but vivacious girl, and her fragile look adds a poignancy to her portrayal. One can believe that she does indeed have a weak heart. Her Spessivtseva solo, with its hops on pointe across the stage was not the smoothest I've seen, but her Mad Scene was heartbreaking.
In the second act, Cojocaru uses her beautifully airy jump and uniquely soft style to give the illusion of a true spirit. She is not technically perfect. When Giselle is first "initiated" as a Wili she is supposed to turn as if she were demented. Cojocaru's hopping turns don't have that feverish, demented energy that some Giselles can bring to the moment. They are somewhat slow and deliberate. (To see how it's done, watch Natalia Makarova, Diana Vishneva or even Carla Fracci.) But it's the overall beauty of movement that separates Cojocaru's Giselle from the "rest of the pack," as they would say. She is able to create a sense of a gentle, forgiving spirit. I particularly love the calm, effortless way she raises her leg in developpe. It seems to symbolize Giselle's sense of inner serenity.
As Albrecht, Cojocaru's offstage partner Johan Kobborg is not quite the dancer Cojocaru is. He goes the somewhat unconventional route and makes Albrecht an ardent and sincere young man from the start. I personally prefer Albrecht's to start off as cads, so their redemption is more dramatic and moving. He also is visibly extremely tired during Act 2. Unfortunately the close-ups expose the sweating. He and Cojocaru have a wonderful partnership -- you can see it in the gentle way he lifts her in the second act. Marianela Nunez is the Myrtha, and she seems to me an odd choice for Myrtha, other than being tallish and a strong technician. She's too inherently warm of a dancer to pull off Myrtha. She's not for a minute terrifying.
Peter Wright's production thankfully restores some mime passages that are often omitted in productions, such as when Giselle's mother tells the story of the Wilis. I found the sets overly fussy and thought they crowded the already-small Royal Ballet stage. I also disliked the dowdy brown dress Giselle wears in the first act. But these are minor complaints in an excellent video of my favorite ballet.
A slightly hesitant "five". . . November 15, 2008
Esteban Molina (San Francisco)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I think no one need fear buying this performance; overall, it is very fine and I think it deserves a top rating, even though I hesitated over a possible four. Technically and overall, a five; though it evokes only an emotional response of four from me. My chief disappointment is the Albrecht. His dancing is accomplished and he acts well, especially in close-up, though I find him slightly mannered at times. My main complaint, however, is that he doesn't seem really to connect to Giselle. He acts outwardly as though he does but, especially in the second act, I really don't believe him. My eyes tell me they care deeply for each other, but my heart remains stubbornly unconvinced. I noticed during the curtain calls that he didn't seem genuinely pleased by the hearty applause given him. A few smiles, yes; but mostly rather blank. Perhaps he's simply a rather cool personality? But Giselle needs the heights of passion and the depths of redemptive love, not committed reserve. Cojocaru on the other hand is an utter delight. I can't imagine anyone looking the part more. And she can certainly act. And she can most certainly dance! She has a luminous sweetness that transforms the stage. With more chemistry from her Albrecht, this might have been as close to definitive as one could hope for, because everyone else is first rate. The Myrthe is especially noteworthy: technically wonderful and dramatically full of menace without seeming to try. It comes from within. And poor Hilarion who, I always feel, gets the rawest of deals is here very sympathetic. Possibly even handsomer than Albrecht [I really did feel Giselle made a poor choice in this case!] - a kind of Eric Bana of dance. It's only a pity the role didn't supply him more chances to dance, because when he did he had all the presence that Albrecht lacked. Finally, if I could pull Nicholas Le Riche from the Paris Opera DVD of Giselle and put him in this production, I think I would be happier. [And, as long as I'm dreaming, let's have Tsiskaridze.] But I'm still glad that I have this production, despite my lack of abandon where Albrecht is concerned. And you really do need to see Cojocaru. The image of her Giselle lingers long in the mind.
Very Worth Having November 8, 2008
CWJ (Owings Mills, MD United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I also love Giselle and have waited for a Royal Ballet production. This is worth waiting for.
I am not a ballet expert as are some who review but I love this DVD. The whole cast is outstanding and one of the things I really like is that the mime is really good. Giselle's mother tells us her worries about her daughter and what may happen to her. I also like the fact that after the introduction and dance of Myrtha in Act 2 she is not just left to stand there, look cold and direct her Wilis (as in almost every other production). Nunez is given a chance to dance her role when possible and she does it well.
I love Cojocaru in the role and think she is better in this than in Sleeping Beauty.
My favorite production of this is the ABT one with Makarova,Baryshnikov and Van Hammel but it's only on VHS and I dispair of it ever coming out on DVD (does anyone know why?).
Absolutely no regrets about buying this DVD
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